


Starting Brand New Chapter From Today At Dawn

by prometheus101



Category: GOT7, 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Light Angst, implied/mentioned park jinyoung/jackson wang/im jaebum, just for a bit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-07
Updated: 2019-10-07
Packaged: 2020-10-19 20:15:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20663147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/prometheus101/pseuds/prometheus101
Summary: A note, the invitation to a party, the burden of secrets. For Namjoon and Jackson it's time to confront some of their fears.





	Starting Brand New Chapter From Today At Dawn

Receiving an invitation to a party was a thing.

The card in golden cursive to Jackson Wang's was another.

Namjoon knew this too well. He remembered the first time when one of his party saved, and he couldn't find in himself another way to put it out, knowing how much they needed the help, their life for good.

But this was another story.

What he had to do now was returning home and share the news with the others. Yet the similarities with that very first time were hard to miss. The invitation had appeared all the same in the middle of his ebony desk on that scrawny place of his downtown he still used to work in when he didn't want distractions. Not the main studio or the common box on their entrance. The note spread trepidation through his limbs.

For reasons he preferred not to dig in, the air felt static, his shoulders slouched for the heaviness of it. Like he was padding through quicksand. Some secrets, he thought, were better to keep hidden. His feet kicked on the ground, the first summer rays played on his sleeves but didn't ease the anxiety seated to his bones. It buzzed, incessant, an old say. Something on how secrets had short lives. The little scribbled paper burned where he had secured it inside his jacket. His mind was buzzing with electricity at the prospect of the reactions of the others, of the words he didn't pronounce being pulled out of him. He wasn't ready for it.

At this his thoughts started to wander to another itch, old fears resurfacing from his remorseful conscience. It was not a distant realization that they were seven young men who had not much in common. A deep inadequacy for the world they lived in, that they tried to surpass, was all they had to rebuild themselves on. At times he doubted the system they created could hold longer. Before his mind could take what once was the usual path he remembered to take a step back. Having expressed these feelings in a moment of vulnerability in the past had helped him find a way to see all in perspective. He forced himself to think of all the outlooks their arrangement led them into. They were working onto things they were still not ready to deal with. It was enough, it was them and it was worth it. Namjoon found the exercise fun, it eased his always processing brain and boosted his confidence, not to talk about the trust he gained in his team. He needed to believe they held the same trust in him more than ever.

These were the activities he was occupied with until the house was before his sight. The bond tingled with its call.

And the surrealistic turn the situation had from the beginning was reinforced when the first person he crushed on the meeting area was Seokjin. The man was running across the room scattering salt. If they hadn't got through this more than a couple of times already he would have questioned his antics. But with how things had evolved he was satisfied with moving up a chair and sitting down. “You won't be able to guess what happened today”. He decided to mess with his hyung before the others came, to help himself with the tension.

Seokjin shrugged like he wanted to shake an unpleasant thought, “I'm not in the mood to guess, and you seem too preoccupied to play.” His personality was final like this. Usually, the first to go light up the mood, he knew where to set the line when situations required it. This was one of those moments, Namjoon supposed.

“No, I'm not. Not quite,” he said, failing to put words out following his feelings.

He didn't notice he was up in his head until Seokjin called for him with a mix of an exasperated and exhausted hunch in his voice “Namjoon-ah you are worrying me. What about we talk for a bit before the others arrive? Would that be good?” The sweetness dripping from his words was unbearable. Namjoon was shaken up. Some days were harder than others to remember that he wasn't anymore on his own. He was worrying Seokjin, that everyone refused to call anything but hyung, even if, as a demon, he stopped to care for the formalities long before any of them was born, with something so trivial, the invitation for a party. Seokjin who had turned around and was now looking at him like he had grown two heads. Letting a deep sigh he backed up with his chair and gestured for him to take the one ahead.

“You don't have to be preoccupied. ” He remained silent, waiting for when the other had sat down.

“The bond says anything but that” the demon chuckled without humor. He took his hands and looked straight into his eyes “besides I have to if you are. I thought we were past this part Joon-ah”.

Even if he didn't on purpose his hyung knew the best how to keep him out of his head. The laugh had himself startled, but it was genuine.

“No, no hyung. It's not like that. Your advice was good. No, I. I don't know actually. I don't think there's necessarily something wrong. It's just weird, you know? The note was weird and made me think of that first time. How hard it was before. But in a good way, okay, you have to believe me.” The demon squeezed his hands at the words, he didn't need anything more for his confidence to grow.

He poured his heart out without filter, knowing, at this point, no judgment or harsh comments would come his way “It's the same when I have to figure how to incorporate complicate magic into my tattoos, it felt wrong at first, even if I knew the rituals. But it had another procedure, so even if in the core it's the same, it made me uneasy as it is the first time. It's strange like that.”

He knew he rumbled too many words in so little time Seokjin had had for sure no time to process them all. But his posture relaxed for the first time since he read the note, and he considered it a win. Not giving his mind the time to process bad thoughts Namjoon had the chance to reconsider the origin of his uneasiness, welcoming the absurdity of it. With the calm of this epiphany, he relinquished in the warmest smile he had ever seen before his eyes.

Full cheeks squished plump lips, something ethereal in the look of it the alchemist never stood a chance against. The years who separated them outclassed and forgotten in a corner. The present a more important urge. Only when he steadied his look on his eyes the memory that his wishes had a price come for Namjoon once again, locking his breath in his throat. He was a pathetic wreck, he thought, looking down at their still intertwined hands on his laps. He recomposed himself in time to tilt up his head and make eye contact when Seokjin spoke again.

“I'm glad you opened up to me with how you were feeling.” He squeezed his hands again. “I think I heard you talking about a note?”

If the smirk Seokjin wore was anything to go by he was sure the surprise on his face didn't pass unobserved.

“I can't believe I didn't tell you before. Here” he pulled out the card from the inside pocket of his leather jacket “It vanished on the desk at the apartment. Familiar, right?”

There was nothing strange with the card itself, eccentric maybe, but nothing out of ordinary. Except for the fact, Seokjin extracted from the envelope also the guilty little piece of paper. Namjoon could tell the exact moment the demon read it, the frown on his face gave him away. It's not like he expected something else.

Almost subconsciously the other worried his bottom lip, and if he didn't know better Namjoon would go as far as saying his eyes fleshed that icy color, the one reserved for serious matters. This was unexpected.

He put the note upfront on the table. The neat calligraphy mocked them for their confusion.

Seokjin dragged the palm of his hand on his face, pinched the bridge of his nose and reassigned rested it on his tight. When he spoke his tone was almost annoyed.

“I think it's time you talk.”

While he was busy observing him Namjoon had slouched on his sit, the tone of Seokjin made him straighten up.

“That's what he wrote. Told'ya, isn't it strange? ” he said, he tried to think of anything Jackson needed to talk about whit him. And why, with all the time they spent together, he had to say it like this. It had relived upsetting memories. He had spaced again, but Seokjin's tired words snapped him out of it.

“What did you do?” he was now looking at him pointedly, like trying to gauge every fragment of his expression, like he was ready to take him at fault at any moment. That was a thing he hadn't take into consideration. And it burned.

“Hyung, it's anything like that. I didn't. What. I said that before. I didn't do anything. I'm surprised just like you. You have to believe me.” He couldn't believe that after all, they went through, after all the sweet words, it would've been Seokjin the one who would begin with the accusations. “Why are you. Why are you saying it like that.”

Seokjin's look was strained as well. “Namjoon I trust you, you know that.”

“It doesn't seem like it” this time he didn't lower his eyes, he wanted to look at him while he explained why, if he trusted him, this would've been the first question he thought to ask after reading the message he gave him. After he had explained himself.

A sigh escaped the demon's lips, like he was the one under interrogation, and not the other way around.

“Don't do that. Just let me talk.” the intensity of everything, his voice, his look, the stiffness of his posture, made Namjoon want to scream. He nodded his head nonetheless.

“I have to ask you this Namjoon. They are the same words as last time. And last time could've ended badly.” He stopped to take a deep breath. He knew some scars took more time to heal.

“I'm asking you this because last time you did something really stupid that could have harmed my family.” And this stung on Namjoon's heart, his eyes red-rimmed at this point. He was mad at himself because he knew that if Seokjin was wary it was only his fault. “Namjoon-ah” he didn't even know he lowered his eyes, not until he had to tilt his head again to look after Seokjin's voice “You are my family too, don't forget this. And I have to protect my family, even from itself.”

He felt the warmth of his hands on him before registering the words. He hoped if he squeezed his hands enough he could convey his sorrow, for words surely weren't enough. With his tearful eyes, he watched Seokjin as he came closer. “I know I trust you. But I had to ask.” Namjoon closed the distance between them resting their foreheads together. When the demon warm breath fanned over him he shut his eyes closed. This was his moment to let the vulnerability in and his heart out. “I promise you, hyung, one day you won't have anymore.”

“I know.”

They were probably smiling like idiots, Namjoon with tears on his face, Seokjin with all the care in the world. He believed in them.

Few seconds, or minutes they couldn't say, passed and their time on the bubble was spiraling from their hands when Namjoon remembered they hadn't come to a conclusion with Jackson's message.

“So, now that we are clear, what do you think?” he dared to ask, fearful of breaking both the silence and their moment.

“I think your friend is a scam.” He wanted, he did, to focus on the gentle tone of his voice, or that they were at the most convenient distance ever for a kiss. But he was too nervous, the emotions created a mess inside of his belly. So Namjoon laughed. So much his chest trembled, the wetness on his face all a different kind. And he was loud. Obnoxiously so. And in the blink of an eye, the demon followed his lead, and his windpipe sounds warmed him, like a blanket surrounding his heart. The thought embarrassed him so much, but it was another time concern. They even knocked their heads together once or twice in the heist of it. They were good.

“First you make me cry like a baby and then you insult my friend. That, for instance, is a mutual one.” He said when he calmed enough to speak.

It was Seokjin's turn to lower his eyes. He shrank in his form too. “I'm sorry. Didn't mean too. Before” he gestured vaguely on the table “that. I didn't realize it bothered me so much still. Thought we were” he played with his hands, trying to get out the words.

“Better?” Namjoon said when anything came.

“Yeah.” Even if he was the one suggesting it, it stung a little, Seokjin noticed and had the decency to look guilty. “But. Not like we are not good,” he added.

He didn't like it, but he understood. “It's normal. I betrayed your trust.”

“I- I mean, the others” he blinked and widened his eyes as he said more than he intended “I don't want to dig into this more than is due-”

“No,” Namjoon said too fast, “please I want to know” Needed to.

He saw the other's chest expand, his hands clasped on his lap. It took a while before he nodded.

“The others already forgot about it. And here I am, playing with the wounds.” he chuckled without humor. “Hypocrite isn't it” his eyes picked up again the icy color. “Namjoonie, I'm sorry” his voice nothing more than a whisper.

“They don't know the whole story. We, I, said only what was convenient. You don't have to be this harsh on yourself. We'll get there.” he found odd, when the words left his mouth, that he was believing them for the first time in months, his smile genuine.

“Okay.” he reached for his hand “Now, I'm tired of the tears.” They basked in the complicity of their silence for a bit more, when Seokjin spook again

“I was saying, I don't think you have to say anything to the others.”

“How so? And the whole you can't hide things ” he added to tease him. Or maybe not. He took the shove on his right shoulder as a green light.

“Oh, please. If you didn't do anything, it means that Jackson just wants to play.” he patted on his stern to emphasize his next words “And because he is your friend-”

“Our friend”

“He likes you the most. Please, he probably opened a fan club for you, don't get me started.”

“He didn-” he double took on his expression “Are you jealous ?” he erupted in laughter again at the demon, that looked at him outraged with his bubble pink eyes and his turned red ears. He stood up in a neat motion and made a grand show to break the salt lines.

“Time's finished for the bubble, or however you call it.”

“About the other thing? I'll have to tell them”

“After the party”

With a last nod, Seokjin burned the note on the table.

The first to come through was Jungkook. He had picked the habit of wearing sunglasses, even when he was indoors, and Namjoon found the way they framed his face annoying. No one could look good with specs at home. It was stupid. Not stupidly hot. And he had let his hair grow too. Go figure.

Behind him, Jimin and Taehyung entered hand in hand, both with the same pleasing expression. A stare in Jin's direction confirmed him they were sharing the same impression. Those two were plotting something, and somehow it involved them. They loved talking shit about them. No one had imagined the destructive potential of the two new self-proclaimed soulmate bond. They weren't prepared. The trio settles on the few spots before Namjoon, Jungkook hopping on the table. If it was any other time he was sure Seokjin would've already reprimanded him, the high of their conversation lingered still. The younger continue gaze in the demon direction proved right his theory that he did that just to piss the other off. Brat.

“So, why did you called us?” Jimin was the first one to speak, looking at his and Taehyung's fingers, feigning indifference. Jungkook's eyes followed Namjoon's and fixated on them.

“Nothing to worry about, but I want to wait before saying anything. Don't like to repeat,” he said, not catching why the hybrid was looking at him like he expected him to fall at any moment. With the corner, if his eyes he saw Jin taking a seat somewhere behind his left.

“I asked because it seemed you wanted to talk only with hyung.” Jimin pouted, tilting his head upward, making the most out his big eyes. Taehyung, who had sit still and had let his gaze wander on the shelves until that moment, sported the best performance of his puppy eyes and he was glad Jungkook's gaze couldn't burn. He wasn't that kind of hybrid.

He couldn't see Seokjin, but he was sure he had just rolled his eyes. He sensed his arm on the back of his chair, and Jungkook didn't seem pleased, taken the tight grasp he had on his black baggy pants.

“Y'all can't be still jealous of that” he heard Seokjin voicing his same thoughts.

“We are,” they said in unison, too quickly like the answer was bottled in them for too long.

“Kids, you know why we do that, and that it's dangerous for you.”

The youngest of their team changed an almost imperceptible look, and if Namjoon hadn't passed all his life observing people he would have missed it.

“Yeah, but we are jealous all the same. And you two have to make up to us.” Taehyung's cheeks blossomed in red as he all but whined his request.

So this is what all it was about. Seokjin blurted something similar to a laugh near his ear, and he passed a hands on his face to regain his composure.

“What do you want?”

“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bad, rude. However, given that we are not receiving any case and we are on an unofficial vacation, we thought we could spend some quality time together. And have fun.” Jimin chirped, swayed his and Taehyung's hands on the last part.

“And, even if it is granted, I want to emphasize on the group aspect.”Jungkook inserted himself.

Just while he pronounced his last words, Yoongi and Hoseok made their appearance. Yoongi had a straighter posture than usual and a smile he couldn't hide on his eyes, expression smug at the boys in the room.

Sharks, he was surrounded by starving sharks, Namjoon thought. 

Hoseok trailed little behind him, apologetic for not understanding what was going on.

It didn't take to long for him to discover though, Taehyung was too excited to inform with his endearing boxy smile that “we are going on vacation hyung, Namjoon said it's good.” Hoseok's eyes and little screams of excitement reached everyone, and the once calm room exploded in bright colors. Plans were shouted and even Seokjin joined the festivities.

And yeah sharks surrounded him, but they were adorable sharks. He didn't mind.

He beckoned them to silence when he remembered the reason they were there.

“First, you didn't need to guilt-trip me.”

They were faster to respond than his words getting out of his mouth.

“You didn't seem that inclined to a pause,” Yoongi said. He stood against the frame of the door, now with either arm crossed.

Namjoon was surprised when Hoseok's voice made an appearance too “Yeah, you vanished in that apartment of yours”, he accompanied his words with a meek smile. Maybe sensing he said too much.

“Besides, we are jealous.”

“Kook-ah”

The leader didn't expect that type of comment from the younger. It was his clue for an impromptu intervention. A break seemed useful. And the party a great start.

“That was uncalled for.” Jungkook blushed, but never let his gaze drop, rather he held his chin up, a dare. “Second, I haven't agreed to it but, again when I ever refused you anything? No Jungkook, that doesn't count” he said before there was the chance to ask “I supposed some time off could do us some good. Third, I have a surprise for you! And I didn't know it would be this fitting.” he said.

He locked eyes with everyone, basking in their curious expressions. It was his time to play.

“What do you think hyung, do you want to do the honors?” he asked turning to face the demon.

His face scrunched in an embarrassed laugh now that all the attention was on him.

“I don't know” but the protests and the squealed hyung please fixed it for him. “Ah, you all will be my ruin.” He rose from his place beside him and stretched an arm to the table, waving the paper pinched between his fingers. “We are invited to a party this night.”

Looking at him no one could have imagined the private conversation he had with Namjoon minutes prior.

Their expressions ranged from pissed to mild horrified, too wary still of the extraneous eyes continue to linger on their actions. A memento of how he could never forget how prone to wounds they all were if even the mention of something so simple had the same effects of a finger who poked a fresh wound. How easy would be for them to crumble, if the mere mention of the external world took them aback from their cheering? It wasn't fair. He was quick to reassure them it was their friends doing. The mention of Jackson's name had them relaxed, asking what time it was. But only when Taehyung's puppy eyes were on his, he had the certainty he didn't regret his words.

“Can I choose the outfits? Can I please chose the outfits?”

He couldn't help it, it was a sucker for that and at the same time he spoke his consent he heard Yoongi's “Of course not.” His hyung was amusing. He knew for a fact he was a loser like himself when it came to granting the wishes of the three young men that, coincidentally were at the center of the room

“Why not hyung?” Jungkook's voice teased him

“We are not having this conversation. Namjoon says something.” he waved in his direction, and his gestures would have been dismissed as hilarious, just for show, but his eyes betrayed a look akin to pure fear that Namjoon couldn't ignore. He didn't know what took in him to look him dead in the eyes and talk with the most compassionate voice he could muster.

“Kookie you want to help too?” And, even if Yoongi clutched at his heart with a gaping mouth, he reasoned he could've been crueler. He could have let Seokjin choose.

“Hoba, hyung is being betrayed, revenge me.”

“Why you are not asking me to do it? He is too soft!” Jimin chided in, face features exaggerated while he faked pure sorrow.

“You talk like you all are not attached to the asses, hyung is being reasonable. Plus, he would never let another person near his closet. I know this firsthand.” Jimin rolled his eyes, then muttered something Namjoon interpreted as like you are any better.

Hoseok shoved playfully his way to the tables “Oh please, «know this firsthand» you were nosy, don't make a fool out of me. Let them have fun.” Hoseok's smile was pleased when his hyung blushed, winking at his dongsaeng.

He then revolved his attention to Namjoon, “can I look at the card? I love how he decorated them. The runes are always so harmonious.”

He didn't think much of it. When he lifted the envelope he knew how bad he and Seokjin did the job. The ash wasn't that much, but Hoseok was a too acute observer to hadn't noticed it.

If the demon was right and this was just one of Jackson's extravagances he didn't want them to have anything to do with it. They all were too energic, to begin with. And he had the suspicion the other wanted it to remain secret.

He breathed a sigh of relief when Hoseok caught on his wish and gave a half-hearted comment about how bad the dust was in the room for they barely had time to use it, and how they should use one of their days off to deep cleaning the house. In the time he spent examining the invitation, Namjoon knew he was being examined as well. So he smiled his best to let the other man understand it was all good, and he didn't need to worry. It worked fine, by the way, Seokjin squeezed his shoulder.

Taehyung gave them a way out minutes later when he grabbed Jungkook's hand and shoved him in the corridor, screaming how the time left to the party was fast approaching.

Hoseok left right after them with a nod of acknowledged in his direction, taking with him a giggling Jimin and a proportionally distressed Yoongi, who was still bantering about the wreckage of their family and the lack of credible authority figure.

By the sounds of it they didn't even reach the principal staircase when he and Seokjin heard the sound of Jimin collapsing on his knees from the fit of laughter, Hoseok's just the same. He turned over in his hands the card the latter had put back on the table, mulling over the possible scenarios behind it. In the meantime, a nap sounded good, too.

“I think we should go and rest, this kind of things run long. And you aren't your 100 yrs old self anymore.”

“I won't think of it as an insult, far from it. I'm way better than my first hundred-year would have foreshadowed.”

He patted on his black jeans and stretched himself until his neck cracked. When he stood on the door Seokjin turned once again with a warm smile on his lips that didn't suffice for his sadness to look less evident.

“Namjoonie, sorry if I made you overthink everything again. I have the feeling is nothing important, you know how he is” no suitable words came up to his mind, so he offered a tiny smile in return. Their previous conversation set him up to the realization the time to establish blames and sorry had long passed. It was time to only think forward. He thought how some intuitions resembled slight butterflies and one has to be careful not to scare them. He learned sometimes silence was good, too. “And Joon-ah, thank you. You know, for opening up to me. I appreciated it.” At that, he could only reply with a nod. A lifetime wasn't enough to be grateful for them, but he had promised himself he would try to make the remained time worthy.

When the bond called for him he had just wake up from his nap. The idea of a vacation more tempting the more he thought about it. He had dragged himself on the first floor and he was silently congratulating with himself when screeching and moved furniture entered in his auditory field. About three meters separated him from Taehyung's bedroom, and he was having second thoughts. Maybe it was his still fogged-with-sleep brain, but he didn't remember what was the connection between the strange padded noises and the fact Jungkook and Taehyung had to choose their clothes. The moment he heard Jimin’s voice saying something on the line of «Joonie hyung will love it», he knew it was his clue to leave for downstairs and take the opportunity to sleep again. The door opened in that exact moment and all but swallowed with all his false hopes.

Once he stepped out the frame he stood in a room that only vaguely remembered Taehyung's. The space between the walls was wider and the over present between-life-and-death flowers cascade in white and blue shades formed a sort of corridor in the middle of the room. A yelp turned his attention away, Yeontan jumping excited at his sight while some of the vines caught on his skeleton.

“Hey buddy, it's a while since we last have seen each other. ” He wasn't sure he wanted to know why the puppy was summoned, he supposed Taehyung was thriving with excitement.

“Oh perfect! Now that we are all here we can start the show!” Taehyung clapped, all bouncing around as is four-legged companion.

Namjoon scanned the room and this time didn't miss the enormous stage at the end of the corridor, the same Yeontan was trotting on before vanishing behind petroleum blue satin curtains. They shined with soft icy crystals and thrilled along with a gentle breeze. Jungkook was on him before he realized, hurrying him to the larger end of the makeshift catwalk. He made him sit on the bergère chair appeared in a purple cloud, while his muscled body accommodated itself on his lap. The tension of his body was palpable, vibrating with frenzy so that a pair of inky bunny ears grew straight on his head.

“You know, it's not like I would go out the door”

The boy turned to look at him with a sheepish smile, blossoming red on his cheeks.

“Have to give you the best sit for the show hyung”

A loud rattling went on for a few seconds on his left, behind the curtains the gleeful animosity of the others mixed with some groans.

“I can't believe the blatant favoritism in this house. And it's so obvious, too”

Even if couldn't see it, for having turned to face Seokjin, he imagined Jungkook rolling his eyes. For damage control, he clutched the youngest hip. Another banter between the two, even if hilarious, wasn't something he was looking forward to.

“Why are you like this”

“hyung” Namjoon supplied

“Yeah, hyung, whatever”

Seokjin was baffled, mouth agape “Why I am like this? The audacity! I had to materialize my chair. It's this the way to bring respect to your elders? And a demon, no less”

“What, you didn't remember how to do it? It's basic knowledge, hyung.” Jungkook retorted, playing with the honorific.

“Brat”

“You like it”

“I very much don’t”

For Namjoon pleasure a whisper yelled kookie brought their play to an end. The young man rearranged himself better on his lap, locked one of his arms on the nape of Namjoon neck for leverage and rested the other flat on his chest, clearing his throat. When Taehyung's voice in the same tone scolded him for the second time, he bounced off his tights and placed himself at the center of the stand.

“Gentleman and hyung” a pointed look on Seokjin direction “welcome to the first, and hopefully not last, pre-party fashion show”

he clapped his hands, a big smile never leaving his lips. His ears twitched at his hyungs cheers, and he scrunched his nose mid-bow before adding “for your enjoyment Yoongi and Jimin hyung will show you the first clothing proposals for the night. Then I would ask you, one at a time, to go to the backstage and take on your clothes. ”

“kookie you forgot something”

Jungkook looked lost for a bit, but he did a quick work of concealing his shortfall with a blinding smile “Of course, all the pieces are gave to you by courtesy of Taehyungie hyung. I kindly ask you for applause”

Namjoon and Seokjin seconded him, leaving him the word again when he asked for it with a nod.

“Thank you. Hyung would like to inform you that given the lack of time he was forced to settle to revamp clothes in your possession. Hyung,” he turned again his attention to the demon, “yours is the only exception because Taehyungie hyung was already working on something for you”

“See, he is someone who respects his elders”

Jungkook rolled his eyes again, but the fond smile that reached his eyes was still there.

“Now, if all his ready... Hobi hyung?” he shouted.

“Here kook-ah! I had to help Tae with some little inconvenience.”

“Perfect, I think everything is on point. Let's get it”

Since Taehyung had found a way to use his regenerating magic not only to make fabrics for his clothes but also to make them rearrange themselves in all the shapes he desired it hadn't passed a day, even when they were loaded with works, he didn't spend to make the most of his new ability. For all of them that meant fewer hours spent modeling and more extravagant free clothes, and a happy Taehyung.

Yoongi was the first to come out of the stage. Despite all protest he had made up, a smug smile plastered on his face proceeding on the catwalk. Not that Namjoon had doubts about it, it was pretty normal for his hyung to play it up, it made the younger trio the more proud if they could convince him with some difficulty, he said. He had a hint of make-up on his face, some sort of gloss so his lips shined and his lighter complexion was luminous. His raven hair enriched his look. A bow tie black silk shirt slid over his body, on his shoulders a suit jacket with a dark base on which threads of brilliant warm colors were woven to form abstract designs. All was completed by black slacks and shiny shoes. He bowed at the end of the corridor, encouraging his viewers with his tattooed hands to turn up the volumes of their cheers.

When he was satisfied he returned behind the scenes, giving way to Jimin's regal bearing. He wore his new silver hair parted, matching the silver designs on his jacket, the little linear details on his ruffled collar shirt as well as his rings and jacket's buttons on his gauntlet. His makeup was smoked black, making his gaze sharper.

In a blur was then Jungkook's turn, with a creamy designed v neck shirt and a playing smile. Then Hoseok's with his golden boots and white flounce. When Seokjin twirled on the stage with his blooming sleeves and pink hair it was his turn to going backstage.

Taehyung welcomed him with his exquisite smile in one of the most beautiful suits he had ever seen on the man, and given how much he always cared for his appearance it was easier said than done.

“Can I help you getting dressed?”

he asked. The question shy, as if Namjoon had never denied him anything. At first, it had suffocated him the care they all had in asking him things. How they made sure that he was on board with everything they did. They knew, sometimes better than himself when it was time to insist or to let it go. Never asking for more than he could have given them. They were gentle in ways their touches burned. In ways, some Wednesday night should not be so emotional.

“Of course,” he said, like all the times.

Taehyung proceeded to show him his clothes, a green patterned jacket, and wide-leg blue pants.

He stayed still while the younger buttoned his shirt focused on the frown of his face. He learned it was the little things that mattered.

Even if he was not particularly fond of the show thing, it was fun to see them happy. Not for the first time that day the almost unconscious certainty struck him that If made them happy he could've played along with their desires for all his life.

When the clock signaled five past midnight they exited on their courtyard, small red and golden dots pierced the night haze thanks to Hoseok and Taehyung cure. They were ready to go.

In the furthest corner from the house, Jimin helped Yoongi tear the passage through the comrades level. The heart shook from the intensity of it, of them playing with the folds of the universe. The low monotone of the meditation chants was the only thing that could be heard. Yoongi's raw power always captivated him with the way it reverberated under his skin. From the bond, Jimin's branched out like freshwater taming fire. The fog cleared in a gash between the bushes, and they entered it one after another.

On the other side growing tones of chattings welcomed them when they emerged at the end of a little bridge. Gaggles of blue flames encircled the lake. At its center, the pavilion reserved for the festivities emerged between glowing lotus. Namjoon took Seokjin's side on the bridge, Jungkook on his talons. Entering the pavilion had they astonished, and not for the refined etching playing along the walls, nor for the exotic plants or the delicate drapes. They were used to the massive crowd of guests when you needed elbowing your way from one side to the other, these type of events required. The hall they were facing sparse in comparison. The small groups in the corners acknowledged them, each one with a black mask inlaid with spirals of sparks at the corner of their eyes. Of their host no trace. Namjoon moved to the hanging chalices when, who he recognized to be Jaebum, appeared in front of him holding out seven masks.

“Don’t ask, I don’t know what this is all about. I’m a mere prop. No, I don’t know where he is. And yes, you are right on time” Namjoon didn’t have time to react before the other took the glass from his hand, murmuring how he needed to ask Yoongi for something.

It was then that Hoseok rested his head on his shoulder and embraced his waist. After a few seconds, as he was enjoying his warmth, he whispered in his ear.

“Jimin said he sensed everything would go just fine, that it isn’t like anything you would expect,” he reported, “He said I had to say this to you so I would be reassured too”.

he wanted to ask more, but his dwelling was short-lived, as an echoing voice reached out.

“A moment of attention, please. I know I caught you off guard with my invitation, with so little warning. But I want you all to think of this as a small reunion with friends, as I intended it to be. I would, therefore, like to offer you my apologies and at the same time assure you it will be a night full of surprises and fun. With these words, I would like to welcome everyone for what I hope turns out to be a wonderful event for you!”

People clung to the center of the room, where the voice was loudest and Namjoon was able to recognize most of them as Jackson’s closest friend and confidants.

“Now, if I have all of your attention, I would suggest you look at every odd place on your person. Everyone's ready? I think the game can start!”

The room, laced with silence until that moment, was passed through by a shiver. A glow had spread over each one of the guests, starting from the spirals. Namjoon saw his hide under the sleeve of his jacket.

“As you can see,” the voice continued “you received a message with the name of a room or a character depending on whether you are protagonists, victims or those who moderate the game. It's pretty simple, no one should know who you are unless it is strictly necessary for your quest. You should walk on your own, not talk with anyone else other than the hinters. Yours have half past an hour to find who the culprit is. I wish you good luck, let your mind be open to the unlikely.”

He felt a tickle on his wrist, not quite capable of understanding the burning letters that danced in front of his eyes.

Was he for real?

He carried himself on the second level, where he knew Jackson's studio was. He thought back at the reassurances of both Seokjin and Hoseok, and he hated the host for hyper fixating on mistery for what he supposed was an entertainment move. The writing, come to my office, shined in the dim light. He felt like a broken neon that had lost his way. He knocked a couple of times and waited. When he made the first steps inside was met with the black leather on the back of the desk chair in the barely illuminated room. As it turned slowly a creaking accompanied it, a light glow peeping out.

“I see you received my message”

“What's with the aura? Are you sick?”

Lights came on and Jackson straightened up on his sit, his blue shirt soft on his figure.

“That was the furthest thing from a good joke”

“I can live with it,” Namjoon said, settling on one of the chairs

“Doesn't matter” he said. He got up and reached for one of the windows, looking in the direction of the pavilion “I called you 'cause I need your advice”. Namjoon relaxed his posture, Seokjin was right, it was probably a strategy matter or an alchemic formula he needed some help with.

“Were the ambiguous notes necessary?” he was too annoyed with him he almost didn’t catch him when he blurted out “I'm in love?”

Surely not what he expected, it took some time to process before he could've offered some comment “O-okay?”

“No, you don't understand. I'm in LOVE?”

“Are you asking me?”

“No?”

Dread cascade on him, and he couldn’t help to ask with a broke voice if he was the one he fell in love with. Jackson grimaced turning around abruptly.

“What? No. Ewww." his expression was on the verge of disgusted "You could have asked with more tact, tough”

“Sorry if I hurt your feeling, but you weren’t any better”. Namjoon stood up and walked around the desk to lean on the large dresser on the corner, where maps and miniatures of all layers were arranged in impeccable order.

“You wouldn’t have to confront your squad, if they would think I’m stealing you from them they will tear me apart”

“You forgot the dogs”

“Yeah, of course, the dogs... They- Don't joke on that. They are like piranhas” he frowned, and to hear him speak one would never have imagined what horrors he had faced. As if he wasn't part of the most feared government task force in this part of the flaw.

“Can we return to why you make such a fuss to talk to me? The last time we saw each other was last week if I remember correctly", and Namjoon indeed remembered correctly.

“I didn't make a fuss, I made a party. I acted on impulse, can you blame me?”

He sensed they weren’t going anywhere and decided that after all the pains the message had caused that wasn’t an option. “Can we cut this short?” At that Jackson looked in his eyes for the first time that night, and the vulnerability recognized made him feel bare too.

“Okay okay. I'm nervous. I never said this to anyone. Ithinkiminlovewithjinyoungandjaebum.” Jackson said all in one go, all pretenses of his usual self thrown away. Not the balanced diplomat who never showed any weakness, just a young man with a bruising secret.

“I think you want to repeat that”

“What?”

He knew Jackson's stubbornness at revealing his true thoughts, and he very much preferred to spend the rest of the night with his six men, rather than with a rumbling someone who was yet not ready to take part at the conversation that he had painfully set up, with these tricks- 

“Wait. About the party, what was that you said? What it means, you made it for talking to me about your love life?”At least the man had the decency to look embarrassed.

“That. And it was months I had the last opportunity of hosting one, you know” Jackson said, gesturing vaguely in the air. Namjoon knew exactly what he was talking about, the very reason his squad wanted to take some rest. He rearranged himself comfortably on the chair, followed by the other. The night seeming to get longer. 

“You are incredible. Again, what I'm here for?”

“To help me conquer their hearts. Or at least to prepare a decent speech that will not make me look like a complete idiot when they'll reject me.”

“What am I, the heart-concerns mail? ” At the look of the slightly dismissed stance a sigh escaped him, he was not so cruel to let a friend by himself in moments of need. Just enough to take satisfaction.

“both of them?”

“Of course the both of them” Jackson all but whispered, playing with his fingers. He had lowered his face, the shadow of a smile playing on his lips.

“You never mentioned anything after that time. You scared me with the note” Namjoon lowered his voice too, the atmosphere in the room frail around them.

“I had to be secretive don't you think?" was the answer, Jackson propped on his elbows, his face between his hands "I want everything to be perfect. They deserve everything to go perfect” Namjoon took it his time responding. Some of his fears materialized with that simple phrase. Perfect. He had learned it wasn't something of their world.

“I'm not saying I don't understand that, just that you didn't need to go so out of it.” He had hopes Jackson would not take him the wrong way, but his next words crushed them.

“It's my style. I didn't call you for discouraging me, but for your support. Was I wrong?”

“I'm just saying, you don't even know how they would take it. Are you sure?” The underlying of it was clear for the both of them, are you sure is not just another of your whims? Are you sure is not just a loophole, a way to escape the loneliness that your work entails? Are you sure you are not chasing a flimsy idea?

“I love them with all of my life. I never was so certain about anything in my life”

“I'm not- Just think about their best, too.”

“You think I'm selfish, don't you? To talk so freely about my heart”

“No, of course not. I’m just… surprised. Yeah, I think that’s right. I never thought you were serious about them.” As soon as he had pronounced these words he had come to regret them, the wounded expression on Jackson's eyes made him nauseous. He couldn't stand it. After a deep breath, he went on talking.

"Forget what I said. You shouldn't worry so much about your feelings. They change and grow. Usually, they know what the best for us is. Don't overthink. Just think if this would make you happy. If the mere possibility of it makes your heart grow impossibly big, I, as your friend and heart business consultant, would advise for it.” Namjoon was relieved as a warm smile spread over Jackson's face, and if he didn't know any better he would have said his eyes were shiny.

“I don't think I understood everything, you know?” he laughed.

“Well... neither I. I think I had to get free of something myself”

“So, what you suggest... ”

“Just talk to them when everything is over. Take them alone, listen to what they have to say”

“It simple”

“It is”

“It's scary”

“It is”

"Now, I will help you with gathering your ideas, and then you'll give me the keys to your residence of yours right outside the town"

"I didn't understand this was an extortion"

"Nah, just a friend helping a friend"

He was walking through the alleyway towards home surrounded by the excited tales of the party under the dawn's lukewarm torpor when other words danced on his skin.

Thank you.

**Author's Note:**

> I wish I was able to do the idea that started this fic more justice. I think I will return in the future to this universe. Thank you for taking your time reading it <3  
(if you want, I'm on twitter @chryseagape )  
Title is from "Dawn on us"


End file.
